The damaged villa
(Picture: Vigili de Fuoco)A suspected arson attack overnight targeted the luxury Lake Como villa of sanctioned pro-Putin TV news anchor Vladimir Soloviev, according to reports.
The blaze broke out at the two-storey villa in Menaggio, on the western shores of the lake, with tyres being used to ignite the blaze, local firefighters said.
The mansion, which is being refurbished, has been seized by Italian authorities after the 58-year-old host was sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The blaze was quickly put out by firefighters.
A spokesman for the Como fire brigade said it had intervened at 6am local time to extinguish the fire.
“The operation was completed at 8am and the damage was limited”, he said, adding the two-storey building was under renovation and uninhabited.
The house is one of two properties, worth a total of €8 million, owned by Soloviev around Lake Como that Italian police said they seized. The other one was targeted with anti-war graffiti.
Soloviev was recently forced to shut down criticism of Russia’s invasion on his flagship show on the Kremlin-controlled channel Rossiya 1.
His social media accounts are a constant stream of Putin quotes and pro-war propaganda. He is yet to comment on the blaze.
A neighbour previously told the Daily Mail: “I don’t think anyone would care if he never came back.
“He is not a popular man around here. We know that he loves criticising the West and then chooses to spend his free time in Italy.
“It just shows his arrogance and hypocrisy.”
